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75-582: The PDCS is an observer member of the European People's Party (EPP), having joined the EPP in 1993. Its Italian counterpart was the now-dissolved Christian Democracy . Its internal left-wing faction left in 2006 to form the Centre Democrats and was joined by the social democrats of Arengo and Freedom . It is led by Giovanni Lonfernini , a former Captain-Regent. In the 2006 general election PDCS won 32.9% of

150-415: A European political party with Christian democratic , liberal-conservative , and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Christian-democratic parties in 1976, it has since broadened its membership to include liberal-conservative parties and parties with other centre-right political perspectives. On 31 May 2022,

225-710: A Master of Public Health degree at the institution. In 2015, researchers collaborating at the VroniPlag Wiki reviewed von der Leyen's 1991 doctoral dissertation and alleged that 43.5% of the thesis pages contained plagiarism and in 23 cases citations were used that did not verify claims for which they were given. Multiple notable German academics such as Gerhard Dannemann  [ de ] and Volker Rieble  [ de ] publicly accused von der Leyen of intended plagiarism. The Hannover Medical School conducted an investigation and concluded in March 2016 that while

300-641: A European defence union. A further proposal by von der Leyen, to allow non-German EU nationals to join the Bundeswehr , was met in July 2016 by strong opposition, even from her own party. According to a policy dictated by von der Leyen in February 2017, the Bundeswehr is to play a greater role as an "anchor army" for smaller NATO states, by improving coordination between its divisions and smaller members' Brigades . It

375-655: A central part of its campaign for the European elections in 2009, the EPP approved its election manifesto at its Congress in Warsaw in April that year. The manifesto called for: Concerns that the Hungarian ruling party Fidesz and its leader Viktor Orbán were undermining the rule of law in Hungary caused a split in the EPP in the run-up of the 2019 European Parliament election . On one hand,

450-524: A daughter of Baron Johann Ludwig von Knoop , one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the 19th century Russian Empire . Von der Leyen's father's grandparents were the cotton merchant Carl Albrecht (1875–1952) and Mary Ladson Robertson (1883–1960), an American who descended from a planter family in Charleston, South Carolina . Her American ancestors played a significant role in the British colonisation of

525-529: A debate over funding priorities, von der Leyen categorised as "vital to national interests" only sensor and cryptotechnology and left all other funding items as secondary. Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel was unhappy with her and said that "this will have significant consequences for national defence procurement and European cooperation" as the key focus of the debate would determine where funding will be allocated. She admitted that "Germany would at present be unable to meet NATO requirements". For example, at this time

600-509: A deputy leader of the CDU from 2010 to 2019, and was regarded as a leading contender to succeed Merkel as chancellor of Germany and as the favourite to become secretary general of NATO after Jens Stoltenberg . British defence secretary Michael Fallon described her in 2019 as "a star presence" in the NATO community and "the doyenne of NATO ministers for over five years". In 2023, she was again regarded as

675-597: A result of severe NATO–Russian tensions in Europe, Germany announced an increase in defence spending. In May 2015, the German government approved an increase in defence spending, at the time 1.3% of GDP, by 6.2% over the following five years, allowing the Ministry of Defense to modernise the army fully. Plans were also announced to expand the tank fleet to a potential number of 328, order 131 more Boxer armoured personnel carriers , increase

750-578: A security detail at her side for several years. In 1980, she switched to studying medicine and enrolled at the Hannover Medical School , where she graduated in 1987 and acquired her medical licence, specialising in women's health . From 1988 to 1992, she worked as an assistant physician at the Women's Clinic of the Hannover Medical School. Upon completing her doctoral studies, she defended

825-596: Is a German politician, serving as the 13th president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding positions in Angela Merkel 's cabinet, most recently as federal minister of defence . She is a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its affiliated European political party , the European People's Party (EPP). On 7 March 2024,

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900-1500: Is granted by the Presidency to individuals and associations. Although they do not have voting rights, they can be invited by the President to attend meetings of certain organs of the party. [REDACTED]   Albania [REDACTED]   Bosnia and Herzegovina [REDACTED]   Georgia [REDACTED]   Iceland [REDACTED]   Montenegro [REDACTED]   North Macedonia [REDACTED]   Norway [REDACTED]   Serbia [REDACTED]   Switzerland [REDACTED]   Ukraine [REDACTED]   Armenia [REDACTED]   Belarus [REDACTED]   Bosnia and Herzegovina [REDACTED]   Georgia [REDACTED]   Kosovo [REDACTED]   Moldova [REDACTED]   Norway [REDACTED]   San Marino [REDACTED]   Ukraine [REDACTED]   Armenia [REDACTED]   Belgium [REDACTED]   Belarus [REDACTED]   France [REDACTED]   Croatia [REDACTED]   Hungary [REDACTED]   Italy [REDACTED]   Romania [REDACTED]   Slovakia Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen ( German: [ˈʊʁzula ˈɡɛʁtʁuːt fɔn deːɐ̯ ˈlaɪən] ; née   Albrecht ; born 8 October 1958)

975-580: Is the niece of the conductor George Alexander Albrecht and a first cousin of the chief conductor of the Dutch National Opera Marc Albrecht . Contrary to persistent internet rumours, the Albrecht family is not related to the owners of the supermarket chain Aldi . In 1986, she married physician Heiko von der Leyen , a member of the von der Leyen family that made a fortune as silk merchants and

1050-536: The Bild am Sonntag newspaper that the CDU should consider establishing a formal voting process for choosing future candidates for Chancellor. In 2012, she was re-elected (with 69% of the votes) as one of Merkel's deputies as CDU chairwoman, this time serving alongside Bouffier, Julia Klöckner , Armin Laschet and Thomas Strobl . In the negotiations to form a government following the 2013 federal elections , von der Leyen led

1125-504: The 2010 presidential election , but Christian Wulff was eventually chosen as the parties' candidate. The news media later reported that Wulff's nomination came as a blow to Merkel, whose choice of Leyen had been blocked by the two parties' more conservative state premiers. In November 2010, von der Leyen was elected (with 85% of the votes) as one of four deputies of CDU chairwoman Merkel, serving alongside Volker Bouffier , Norbert Röttgen and Annette Schavan . Later that month, she told

1200-534: The Airbus A400M Atlas transport plane, Eurofighter Typhoon jet and the Boxer armoured fighting vehicle . In January 2015, von der Leyen publicly criticised Airbus over delays in the delivery of A400M military transport planes, complaining that the company had a serious problem with product quality. Under her leadership, the ministry agreed to accept 13 million euros in compensation for delays in deliveries of both

1275-646: The Bundeswehr troops stationed in Afghanistan three times and oversaw the gradual withdrawal of German soldiers from the country as NATO was winding down its 13-year combat mission ISAF . In September 2015, she signalled that she was open to delaying the withdrawal of 850 German soldiers from Afghanistan beyond 2016 after the Taliban 's surprise seizure of the northern city of Kunduz . German forces used to be based in Kunduz as part of NATO -led ISAF and remain stationed in

1350-631: The CDU in 1990, and became active in local politics in Lower Saxony in 1996, shortly after she had returned to Germany after living in California. She was a member of the committee on social policy of CDU in Lower Saxony from 1996, and also became active in the association of medical doctors in the CDU party. Ursula von der Leyen was elected to the Parliament of Lower Saxony in the 2003 state election for Lehrte,

1425-424: The CDU nomination for the German chancellorship , backed by CDU chairman Helmut Kohl , but narrowly missed the candidacy to fellow conservative Franz Josef Strauß (who then lost the general election to a coalition led by the sitting chancellor Helmut Schmidt ); in the 1990 state elections Ernst Albrecht lost his office to Gerhard Schröder , who later became German chancellor. Most of her ancestors were from

1500-690: The Civic Platform of Poland, the Social Democratic Party of Portugal and the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria . According to its website, the EPP is "the family of the political centre-right, whose roots run deep in the history and civilisation of the European continent, and [which] has pioneered the European project from its inception". The EPP was founded in Luxembourg on 8 July 1976 on

1575-467: The FDP was Philipp Rösler . She was reappointed as family minister, but on 30 November 2009 succeeded Franz Josef Jung as Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs. During her time in office, von der Leyen cultivated the image of being the social conscience of the CDU and helped Merkel to move the CDU into the political centre-ground. In speaking out for increasing the number of childcare nurseries, for

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1650-631: The Government of the Philippines that was aimed at helping Filipino health care professionals to gain employment in Germany. A vital provision of the agreement is that the Filipino workers are to be employed on the same terms and conditions as their German counterparts. Von der Leyen was initially considered the front-runner to be nominated by the ruling CDU / CSU parties for election as President of Germany in

1725-545: The Grand and General Council in the Sammarinese parliamentary election, 2008 gaining 54.22% of the national vote and a governmental majority of 5, becoming the new government of San Marino . The Sammarinese Christian Democratic Party which itself gained 22 seats (a few of which went to Euro-Populars for San Marino and Arengo and Freedom) out of the 35 coalition and gained 31.90% of the national vote. Ernesto Benedettini became one of

1800-781: The Hallstein Commission , and then as director-general of the Directorate-General for Competition from 1967 to 1970. She attended the European School, Brussels I until the age of 13. In 1971, she relocated to Sehnde in the Hanover region after her father had become CEO of the food company Bahlsen and involved in state politics in Lower Saxony. Her father served as Minister President of Lower Saxony (state prime minister) from 1976 to 1990, being re-elected in state parliament elections in 1978, 1982 and 1986. In 1980 he ran for

1875-528: The London School of Economics . A German diminutive of Rose, Röschen, had been her nickname since childhood, while Ladson was the name of her American great-grandmother's family, originally from Northamptonshire . She said that she "lived more than she studied", and that London was "the epitome of modernity: freedom, the joy of life, trying everything" which "gave me an inner freedom that I have kept till today". She returned to Germany in 1979 but lived with

1950-400: The Sammarinese election of 2012 , PDCS obtaining 21 seats together with their electoral running-mates, We Sammarinese . This article about a European political party is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This San Marino –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . European People%27s Party The European People's Party ( EPP ) is

2025-897: The World Economic Forum board of trustees. In September 2016, von der Leyen chaired the EPP Defence Ministers Meeting , which gathers EPP defence ministers ahead of meetings of the Council of the European Union . Former British Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon noted in 2019 that she had been "a star presence" in the NATO community and "the doyenne of NATO ministers for over five years". She has faced domestic criticism for her leadership style, reliance on outside consultants, and continued gaps in military readiness. Within her first year in office, von der Leyen visited

2100-469: The 193 EPP delegates supported the common agreement with Fidesz on 20 March 2019 to partially suspend its membership. According to it, Fidesz was "until further notice" excluded from EPP meetings and internal elections, but remained in the European People's Party Group of the European Parliament . Fidesz did not deliver on its earlier promise to leave the EPP in case of a penalty. In February 2020,

2175-654: The Americas , and she descends from many of the first English settlers of Carolina , Virginia , Pennsylvania and Barbados , and from numerous colonial governors. Among her ancestors were Carolina governors John Yeamans , James Moore , Robert Gibbes , Thomas Smith and Joseph Blake , Pennsylvania deputy governor Samuel Carpenter , and the American revolutionary and lieutenant governor of South Carolina James Ladson . The Ladson family were large plantation owners and her ancestor James H. Ladson held over 200 people enslaved by

2250-596: The CDU/CSU delegation in the labour policy working group, with Andrea Nahles of the SPD as her co-chair. In December 2013, Ursula von der Leyen was appointed by Merkel as Germany's first female defence minister . By placing a significant party figure such as von der Leyen at the head of the Defence Ministry , Merkel was widely seen as reinvigorating the scandal-ridden ministry's morale and prestige. Until her 2019 appointment as

2325-666: The Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade will be assigned to the 1st Panzer Division of the German army, with the integration starting at the beginning of 2016, and the unit becoming operational at the end of 2019. In February 2016 it was announced that the Seebatallion of the German Navy would start to operate under Royal Dutch Navy command. The Dutch-German military cooperation was seen in 2016 by von der Leyen and Dutch Minister of Defence Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert as an example for setting up

Sammarinese Christian Democratic Party - Misplaced Pages Continue

2400-576: The EPP elected her as its Spitzenkandidat to lead the campaign for the 2024 European Parliament elections. She was re-elected to head the Commission in July 2024. Albrecht was born and raised in Brussels , Belgium, to German parents. Her father, Ernst Albrecht , was one of the first European civil servants . She was brought up bilingually in German and French, and moved to Germany in 1971 when her father became involved in German politics. She graduated from

2475-525: The EPP extended the suspension of Fidesz indefinitely. On 2 April 2020, thirteen parties within the EPP issued a joint statement aimed at Donald Tusk, asking him to expunge Fidesz from the party. Three days before this, the Hungarian Parliament had passed a law, declaring a state of emergency within Hungary, granting Prime Minister Viktor Orbán the right to rule by decree. On 3 March 2021, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that Fidesz would leave

2550-497: The EPP group after it changed its internal rules (to allow suspension and expulsion of multiple deputies and their groups), although Fidesz remained a suspended member of the EPP itself. On 18 March 2021, Fidesz decided to leave the European People's Party. In June 2024, The Hungarian Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP), who serve in government with Fidesz, left the European People's Party. That same month, members of

2625-576: The EPP had been reluctant for years to address Fidesz's stance against the rule of law, expressed by the Article 7 proceedings of the European Parliament . On the other hand, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker , a prominent EPP-member, stated "I believe his [Fidesz's] place is not in the European People's Party". Orbán's campaigns targeting billionaire George Soros and Jean-Claude Juncker carried wide reverberations for Europe questioning

2700-546: The EPP the same year. The EPP has had seven Presidents: During its Congress in Bucharest in 2012, the EPP updated its political platform after 20 years (since its Congress in Athens in 1992) and approved a political manifesto in which it summarised its main values and policies. The manifesto highlights: The manifesto also describes the EPP's priorities for the EU, including: As

2775-483: The EPP's effort to install its lead candidate Manfred Weber as the next President of the European Commission . After years of deferring a decision about the Fidesz issue, the EPP was eventually compelled to address the problem two months before the 2019 European elections, as 13 outraged member parties requested the Hungarian party's exclusion from the EPP due to its billboard campaign featuring Jean-Claude Juncker. 190 of

2850-498: The EPP's organs and on all matters. Associate members have the same voting rights as full members except for matters concerning the EU's structure or policies. These associate members are parties from EU candidate countries and EFTA countries. Observer parties can participate in all the activities of the EPP, and attend the Congresses and Political Assemblies, but they do not have any voting rights. Special status of "supporting member"

2925-551: The EPP. Many of the founding fathers of the European Union were also from parties that later formed the EPP. The EPP includes major centre-right parties such as the CDU/CSU of Germany, ÖVP of Austria, CD&V of Belgium, PNL of Romania, Fine Gael of Ireland, National Coalition Party of Finland, New Democracy of Greece, the Moderates of Sweden, the People's Party (PP) of Spain,

3000-640: The European Union of Christian Democrats , founded in 1965. In the late 1990s, the Finnish politician Sauli Niinistö negotiated the merger of the European Democrat Union (EDU), of which he was president, into the EPP. In October 2002, the EDU ceased its activities after being formally absorbed by the EPP at a special event in Estoril, Portugal. In recognition of his efforts, Niinistö was elected Honorary President of

3075-558: The German parliament approved government plans in early 2016 to send up to 650 soldiers to Mali , boosting its presence in the U.N. peacekeeping mission MINUSMA in the West African country. In June 2014, von der Leyen introduced a €100 million plan to make the Bundeswehr more attractive to recruits, including by offering crèches for soldiers' children, limiting postings to match school term dates, and considerable rises in hardship allowances for difficult postings. In August 2014 in

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3150-661: The German refusal to supply Ukraine with weapons. Stressing that it was necessary to remain united in Europe over Ukraine, she argued that negotiations with Russia, unlike with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant jihadists, were possible. Angela Merkel saw Ukraine and Russia as a chance to prove that in the 21st century, developed nations should solve disputes at the negotiating table, not with weapons, she said. She also noted that Russia has an almost infinite supply of weapons it could send to Ukraine. She questioned whether any effort by

3225-607: The Kremlin the excuse to openly intervene in this conflict". After Hungary used a water cannon and tear gas to drive asylum seekers back from the Hungarian-Serbian border in September 2015, during the European migrant crisis , von der Leyen publicly criticised the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and called the measures "not acceptable and [...] against the European rules that we have". Under von der Leyen's leadership,

3300-595: The London School of Economics in 1978, and in 1987, she acquired her medical license from Hanover Medical School. After marrying fellow physician Heiko von der Leyen , she lived for four years in the United States with her family in the 1990s. After returning to Germany she became involved in local politics in the Hanover region in the late 1990s, and she served as a cabinet minister in the state government of Lower Saxony from 2003 to 2005. In 2005, von der Leyen joined

3375-426: The Russian Federation . She was named the most powerful woman in the world by Forbes in 2022 and 2023. On 18 July 2024, von der Leyen was re-elected as President of the European Commission by the European Parliament with an absolute majority of 401 members of the European Parliament out of 720. Her absolute majority was strengthened by around thirty votes compared to her election in 2019. Von der Leyen

3450-410: The United States. She lives with her family on a farm in Burgdorf near Hanover where they keep horses. She is a keen equestrian and has been involved in competitive horseriding. She moved to the Hanover Region in 1971 when her father entered politics to become minister-president of the state of Lower Saxony in 1976. In 1977, she started studying economics at the University of Göttingen . At

3525-435: The West could match that or, more importantly, achieve the outcome sought by Ukraine and its supporters. On the contrary, von der Leyen said that giving the Ukrainians arms to help them defend themselves could have unintended and fateful consequences. "Weapons deliveries would be a fire accelerant", von der Leyen told the Süddeutsche Zeitung daily. She agreed with NATO SACEUR General Philip Breedlove that "it could give

3600-407: The army's training commander, Major General Walter Spindler . As a consequence of improved Dutch–German cooperation, since 2014 two of the three Royal Netherlands Army Brigades are under German Command. In 2014, the 11th Airmobile Brigade was integrated into the German Division of fast forces (DSK). The German 414 Tank Battalion was integrated into the Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade . In turn,

3675-421: The favourite to take the role. On 2 July 2019, von der Leyen was proposed by the European Council as the candidate for president of the European Commission . She was then elected by the European Parliament on 16 July; she took office on 1 December, becoming the first woman to hold the office. In November 2022 she announced that her commission would work to establish an International Criminal Tribunal for

3750-408: The federal cabinet, first as minister for family affairs and youth from 2005 to 2009, then as minister for labour and social affairs from 2009 to 2013, and finally as minister for defence from 2013 to 2019, the first woman to serve as German defence minister. When she left office she was the only minister to have served continuously in Merkel's cabinet since Merkel became chancellor. She served as

3825-439: The first joint cabinet meeting of the governments of Germany and Turkey in Berlin. By April 2016, under von der Leyen's leadership, the German Federal Armed Forces announced they would commit 65 million Euro to establish a permanent presence at Incirlik Air Base , as part of Germany's commitment to the military intervention against ISIL . At the Munich Security Conference in February 2015, von der Leyen publicly defended

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3900-417: The former German President Roman Herzog , recommended a comprehensive package of reform proposals including, among other things, decoupling health and nursing care premiums from people's earnings and levying a monthly lump sum across the board instead. Ahead of the 2005 federal elections , Angela Merkel chose Ursula von der Leyen to cover the family and social security portfolio in her shadow cabinet . In

3975-418: The former states of Hanover and Bremen in today's northwestern Germany; she has one American great-grandmother of primarily British descent, with more distant French and Italian ancestors, and some ancestors from what is now Estonia , then part of former Russian Empire . The Albrecht family was among the hübsche ("courtly" or "genteel") families of the Electorate and Kingdom of Hanover —a state that

4050-446: The governments of Germany and Israel in Jerusalem in March 2008. At the federal election of 2009 , von der Leyen was elected to the Bundestag , Germany's Parliament, representing the 42nd electoral district of Hanover , alongside Edelgard Bulmahn of the Social Democrats. In the negotiations to form a coalition government following the elections, she led the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on health policy; her co-chair from

4125-400: The height of the fear of communist terrorism in West Germany, she fled to London in 1978 after her family was told that the Red Army Faction (RAF) was planning to kidnap her due to her being the daughter of a prominent politician. She spent more than a year in hiding in London, where she lived with protection from Scotland Yard under the name Rose Ladson to avoid detection and enrolled at

4200-429: The initiative of Jean Seitlinger ; Leo Tindemans , then Prime Minister of Belgium , who became the first President of the EPP; and Wilfried Martens , who later became both President of the EPP and Prime Minister of Belgium. It had been preceded by the Secretariat International des partis démocratiques d'inspiration chrétienne , founded in 1925, the Nouvelles Equipes Internationales , founded in 1946 (or 1948), and

4275-421: The introduction of a women's quota for listed companies' main boards, for gay marriage and a nationwide minimum wage , von der Leyen made enemies among the more traditionalist party members and won admirers on the left. Von der Leyen also lobbied for lowering the barriers to immigration for some foreign workers, in order to fight shortages of skilled workers in Germany. In 2013, she concluded an agreement with

4350-405: The majority of the German Air Force was grounded, with 42 of its 109 Eurofighter Typhoons and 38 of 89 Tornado fighters ready for deployment. An external report had been commissioned and, with cost overruns rising into the billions of euros, all nine of the Bundeswehr's major projects had been delayed by between 30 and 360 months. This occurred one year into her tenure at Defense. In 2015, as

4425-433: The negotiations to form a government following the election, von der Leyen led the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on families; her co-chair from the SPD was Renate Schmidt . In 2005, Ursula von der Leyen was appointed Federal Minister of Family Affairs and Youth in the cabinet of Angela Merkel . On the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel, von der Leyen participated in the first joint cabinet meeting of

4500-457: The newly elected Hungarian Tisza Party led by Peter Magyar , a former Fidesz insider, applied to join EPP. In April 2023, Belgian police and German investigators carried out a raid at the EPP headquarters in Brussels as part of an investigation in Germany. Within the EPP there are three kinds of member organisations: full members, associate members and observers. Full members are parties from EU states. They have absolute rights to vote in all

4575-593: The north of the country. She later opposed the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan . In the summer of 2014, she was instrumental in Germany's decision to resupply the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters with lethal assistance. Following criticism from German officials of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan 's escalation of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict in August 2015, von der Leyen decided to let Germany's three-year Patriot missile batteries mission to southern Turkey lapse in January 2016 instead of seeking parliamentary approval to extend it. That same month, she participated in

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4650-425: The party elected as its President Manfred Weber , who was also EPP's Spitzenkandidat in 2019. The EPP has been the largest party in the European Parliament since 1999 and in the European Council since 2002. It is also the largest party in the current European Commission . The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola are from

4725-426: The president of the European Commission, she was the only minister to remain with Merkel since she became chancellor in 2005. In December 2014, von der Leyen had her fingerprint cloned by a German hacker who was able to use the commercially available VeriFinger product from Neurotechnology UAB to replicate her fingerprint using photographs taken with a "standard photo camera". In August 2016, von der Leyen joined

4800-573: The same constituency then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder represented from 1986 to 1998. From 2003 to 2005 she was a minister in the state government of Lower Saxony, serving in the cabinet of Christian Wulff , with responsibility for social affairs, women, family, and health. In 2003, von der Leyen was part of a group assigned by the then-opposition leader and CDU chairwoman Angela Merkel to draft alternative proposals for social welfare reform in response to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's " Agenda 2010 ". The so-called Herzog Commission, named after its chairman,

4875-458: The second and third A400M aircraft. In 2016, she asked for an additional 12.7 million euros in damages for delays in the delivery of a fourth plane. Also in 2015, von der Leyen chose MBDA , jointly owned by Airbus , Britain's BAE Systems , and Italy's Leonardo S.p.A. , to build the Medium Extended Air Defense System , but set strict milestones for it to retain the contract. During her May 2015 visit to India, von der Leyen expressed support for

4950-666: The submarine fleet, and to develop a new fighter jet to replace the Tornado . Germany considered increasing the size of the army, and in May 2016 von der Leyen announced it would spend €130 billion on new equipment by 2030 and add nearly 7,000 soldiers by 2023 in the first German military expansion since the end of the Cold War. In February 2017, she announced that the number of Bundeswehr professional soldiers would increase from 178,000 to 198,000 by 2024. In April 2017, after Bundeswehr officials failed to properly investigate persistent reports of brutal hazing rituals, sexual humiliation, and bullying in military training, von der Leyen fired

5025-416: The thesis and graduated as a Doctor of Medicine in 1991. Following the birth of twins, she was a housewife in Stanford , California, from 1992 to 1996, while her husband was a faculty member of Stanford University , returning to Germany in 1996. From 1998 to 2002, she taught at the Department of Epidemiology, Social Medicine and Health System Research at the Hanover Medical School . In 2001 she earned

5100-506: The thesis contains plagiarism, no intention to deceive could be proven. The university decided not to revoke von der Leyen's medical degree. Critics questioned the independence of the commission that reviewed the thesis as von der Leyen personally knew its director from joint work for an alumni association. Various media outlets also criticised that the decision was nontransparent, not according to established rules, and failed to secure high academic standards. Ursula von der Leyen joined

5175-468: The time slavery in the United States was abolished; her relatives and ancestors were among the wealthiest in British North America in the 18th century, and she descends from one of the largest slave traders in the Thirteen Colonies , Joseph Wragg . Carl and Mary were the parents of Ursula von der Leyen's grandfather, the psychologist Carl Albrecht , who was known for developing a new method of meditation and for his research on mystical consciousness. She

5250-415: The two Joint Captains Regent of San Marino . A political crisis in 2011 dissolved the old majority, and the PDCS formed a government of national unity with the Party of Socialists and Democrats , whose predecessors worked with the PDCS for decades, so restoring a political formula which led San Marino , and Italy , during the second half of the 20th century. The new alliance, San Marino Common Good , won

5325-480: The vote and 21 out of 60 seats in the Grand and General Council . The party stood in opposition to the 2006-2008 governing political coalition of Party of Socialists and Democrats , Popular Alliance and United Left . For the 2008 general election the party was part of the Pact for San Marino coalition and gave hospitality in its list to some candidates of the Euro-Populars for San Marino and Arengo and Freedom . The electoral coalition won 35 seats out of 60 in

5400-497: Was announced in February 2017 that the Czech Republic 's 4th Rapid Deployment Brigade and Romania 's 81st Mechanized Brigade would be integrated into Germany's 10 Armoured Division and Rapid Response Forces Division. In October 2014, von der Leyen pledged to get a grip on Germany's military equipment budget after publishing a KPMG report on repeated failures in controlling suppliers, costs and delivery deadlines, e.g., with

5475-530: Was born in 1958 in Ixelles , Brussels, Belgium, where she lived until she was 13 years old. In the family, she has been known since childhood as Röschen, a diminutive of Rose . Her father Ernst Albrecht worked as one of the first European civil servants from the establishment of the European Commission in 1958, first as chef de cabinet to the European commissioner for competition Hans von der Groeben in

5550-561: Was ennobled in 1786; her husband became a professor of medicine and the CEO of a medical engineering company. She met him at a university choir in Göttingen . They have seven children, born between 1987 and 1999. Von der Leyen is Lutheran . Ursula von der Leyen is a native speaker of German and French, and speaks English fluently, having lived for a combined five years in the United Kingdom and

5625-593: Was in a personal union with the United Kingdom—and her ancestors had been doctors, jurists and civil servants since the 17th century. Her great-great-grandfather George Alexander Albrecht moved to Bremen in the 19th century, where he became a wealthy cotton merchant, part of the Hanseatic elite and the Austro-Hungarian Consul from 1895. He married Baroness Louise Dorothea Betty von Knoop (1844–1889),

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